Pie
by Abandon Structure
Summary: How Jondy becomes real, starting with pie. Early piece of writing so be gentle.
1. The Pie

**Salem, OR**

**April, 2011**

Her eyes snapped open.

For a minute, she lay there, disoriented, grey walls and memories overlapping peeling paint and reality, at least, her reality for the moment.

_Stop it._

She whispered silently to herself, closing her eyes and focusing, like they'd taught her.

_Forget._

Every day for the last two years she'd done the same exercise. And every day, some primal part of her screamed the same response.

_NO!_

Sighing, shaking her head slightly to get rid of the lingering after effects of sleep, she crawled from beneath the blanket she'd stolen off a dead body in the street the night before.

Getting to her feet, she took stock of herself.

Threadbare sneakers, skinned knees peering out from underneath a pair of cut-off sweats, rolled six or seven times in order to keep them from falling down. A man's t-shirt, advertising something called 'Hollister' she'd found on a clothesline two days ago.

It smelled bad and she wished she could wash it, but she didn't have anything else to wear at the moment.

Her hand drifted up, running gingerly through the chin length hair that itched. She was fairly certain she had lice, probably brought on by the poor bathing habits she'd been forced to adopt since the Escape.

They'd talked about freedom back at Manticore. The nights she and Max had lain awake, both of them not needing sleep. The stories had changed night to night. Sometimes all they wanted was to be able to lie in the sun and not train. Sometimes it was to play in the woods and not get called back for a drill or classroom exercise.

All of the time they were together.

Only, it didn't work out that way. Jondy wasn't even sure Max had made it out.

She'd gone under the ice, stepping on a spot that Jondy had just run over.

She always wondered if maybe she'd weakened the ice enough for it to break and the river to claim her sister.

_Stop it, soldier._

Zack's voice echoed in her head at the oddest times.

Clutching her arms around her middle in an effort to alleviate the constant cold, she stepped through broken glass to the doorway of the abandoned hut she'd procured for the night.

There was normal activity on the street outside. People lingering, talking. The few lucky enough to have jobs rushing off to work, some in suits and ties, others in jeans.

Manual labor was more abundant in a city that was falling apart. Maintenance, after all, was a full time job.

She needed money, but no one would hire a scrawny looking eleven year old with lice and an undeniable odor.

Sighing, she ducked back inside, carefully wrapping up her meager bundle of belongings.

She had a second blanket, procured from the same line as the shirt. She had another pair of shoes, pulled from a garbage bin that were called 'snow boots'. She was familiar with boots; she'd worn them her whole life. But boots specifically designed for snow travel?

She'd carefully packed them away in her stolen rucksack, referred to as a 'backpack'. It had someone called 'Hannah Montana' on it. She'd learned that it was something girls in her age group were expected to enjoy and utilized it to maintain her cover.

A scarf was gingerly wrapped around her neck, both as protection against the cold and as cover for her barcode, which her hair was still too short to cover.

A jacket, too big for her small frame, but in bright purple, a color she found, much to her surprise, she really liked. Maybe because she didn't have any bad memories of it.

Slipping into the jacket, she reached in her bag and pulled out her last chunk of slightly stale bread along with a somewhat mealy apple and two left over pizza slices.

She really liked pizza.

Eating her meal, she contemplated her actions for today.

She'd been staying here for several weeks now with minimal interaction with the local occupants of this area. It was unlikely by her estimate that any of them were aware of her presence.

Theoretically, she could remain stationary for a while longer, but instinct told her to move.

Pulling out her last, most valuable possession, she spread out the map of the western United States she'd procured from a gas station approximately five days after her escape.

There were holes in it, carefully poked through with a pen as Jondy visited them. She didn't want to return to any place she'd already been, tactical sense telling her it was unwise.

She was currently holed up in the outskirts of Salem, Oregon. She'd moved west from Danvers, Montana, hiding out in the back of semi-trucks to get from here to there.

North would be colder and she hated the cold, so her pen took her south.

California. She'd heard whispered stories about the bright sun and warm weather. Deciding that that was where she wanted to be, she slipped the map back into her bag, shrugged on her jacket and switched out her shoes on the basis that the snow boots were warmer than her holey tennis shoes.

Double checking the front for any signs of suspicious activity, she quickly followed the lines of the walls, making her way silently to the back door.

There were people in her neighbors yard, standing in a loose circle and talking; she'd have to wait for them to leave.

The door was open slightly, and the wind blew it open more, offering her a more complete view of the outside world.

Cold, dreary, and hungry, Jondy curled up back against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest, as she contemplated how much different her life would be if she'd stayed.

_Max would be dead._

Max could be dead already, for all Jondy knew.

_You'd have been punished._

Every day was a punishment out here. At least back at Manticore they'd had 'days off' so to speak, where training would be lighter than before.

_They'd have separated you._

Her heart seized and she rubbed her chest with a faint grimace.

They were already separated, and, besides, it'd been almost a year since Manticore had done an overhaul. It was unlikely that they'd have been reassigned to different squads no matter what the guards were whispering about.

What did they know anyways, those stupid ordinaries. They'd been paid muscle, nothing more. Manticore didn't tell them anything, so they made shit up.

_You'd be a prisoner._

Prisoner of War. POW. They'd done training, had simulations; they'd seen it from both sides, as the captor and the capturee. They'd been poked, prodded, torn apart from the inside out. So confused they couldn't remember anything.

It took days afterwards to undo their programming. Days of exhaustion, where even Jondy and Max had slept.

The worst part always came afterwards. Afterwards, you remembered everything.

Your screams. The Pain. The all consuming desire for it to end.

The wet sound of flesh severing, of bones breaking. The scent of blood, so sickening in its appeal you choke on your own vomit in an effort to get away.

They were predators; they'd been designed with apex predator DNA. The top of the food chain. Wolf, large cat, birds of prey, and more. Blood appealed to that side of them.

It was the human side, as undernourished and maladapted as it was, that was horrified by the carnage.

It was the human side that would scream into your head _Why!_

It was the worse feeling in the world, hating yourself for being yourself.

The neighbors shifted, strolling around the front for some reason or another, and Jondy didn't hesitate.

She was out the door and in the alley in seconds, a blur to anyone who'd been watching.

She slowed to a trot, careful to keep track of her surroundings without looking too alert, too out of place.

Out here, kids played. They smiled, they laughed, they had fun.

Out here, Jondy played. She played pretend. She smiled, she laughed, she faked the fun, but inside she mourned.

_Where are you?_ She'd asked, every cell of her body screaming, begging for the company of her siblings, her family. Her pack.

_I hate being alone._

Slipping down alley after alley, she made her way to the nearest truck yard.

It was a metal company, its yard full of cargo trailers, but only a few were hooked up.

The yard was surrounded by a fence, fifteen feet high at least. In another year, maybe two, she'd be able to jump it, easy, but right now, she was still too small.

If she jumped halfway up, she'd make too loud of a noise on impact, so she searched for an alternative.

Halfway around the perimeter she caught sight of a dumpster, pushed against the fence. It was too short for her to be able to stand and climb over the fence, but it she used it as a jumping point…

Carefully securing her pack, she walked until she was at least twenty feet from the dumpster. That would give her enough running room to get the momentum she would need.

Letting her breath out in a smooth line, she inhaled sharply and took off.

A blur moved forward, leaping when it neared the dumpster and, using the lid as a springboard, jumped up.

She cleared the fence, but just barely. Some of the wire on top had caught her leg, opening up a three inches gash that _hurt._

_Pain is a phantom of the mind._

_Shut up!_

She snarled at the phantom voice of her former instructor. It was her supreme source of comfort and defiance; she could curse him all she wanted now and he'd never be able to punish her for it.

The wound was deep enough that, had she been born an ordinary, she'd need stitches. As it was, back at Manticore they probably would have thrown a few in just in case.

She didn't have the luxury of medical treatment here on the outside, so she reverted back to basic field med.

There was an unoccupied office about fifteen feet from where she'd landed; breaking in proved to be as simple as opening the door.

There were papers strewn all over the place, but Jondy's interest was simple: money and supplies.

There was a blanket, soft and warm, thrown over a chair. It was clean and smelled faintly of the forest.

Jondy quickly swapped her old blanket for the new one.

There was also a closet with a few shirts and some pants.

A pair of shorts were folded neatly along the bottom. They looked like the shorts they'd were back at Manticore for Summer and Indoor Training.

She slipped them in her pack as well.

Liberating two shirts, she packed one away and ripped the other into pieces for bandages.

There was a small sink and a bathroom in the back of the trailer, so she quickly cleaned her wound and, after a seconds hesitation, bathed her hair and her body as well.

The water was cold, but she didn't really care about a luxury such as warmth; she just wanted to be clean.

After splashing on some antiseptic and throwing the rest of the bottle into her pack, she checked the rest of the area out for other supplies.

There was toothpaste, a wash clothe and hand towel, and some toilet paper, all of which she took.

The best thing that she found, though, was a full lunch pail and a box of something called twinkies.

Pushing the box in her bag and clutching the lunch pail close, she exited the trailer and made her way to the nearest loaded truck.

Slipping up the off-side where no one could see her, she scanned the paperwork lying on a clipboard in the passenger seat.

The shipping manifest cited Phoenix as a final destination, meaning this particular truck would be heading south, exactly the direction she wanted to be heading in.

Just to see if any of the other trucks were heading in a similar, better direction, she repeated the procedure.

Toledo, Denver, New York City, and Little Rock.

The first truck was her best bet.

Final inspection had occurred and all the truck was waiting for was the driver, so Jondy quickly located the keys for the back lock.

Unlocking the door, she used all of her considerable strength to push the door up before returning the keys to the cab.

Double checking to make sure her surroundings were clear, she slid inside the back, pulling the door down, leaving a small gap for air, before crawling behind a stack of boxes and waiting.

Half an hour later, footsteps approached, followed by a gruff voice swearing.

"Goddamnit, Portman! You were supposed to fucking lock the door!"

"Sorry, man. I thought I did."

"Yeah, well, you didn't. Now it's gonna take another hour to double check everything before I can leave."

"Aw, come on, Tony. If you're an hour late on delivery, our pay gets docked fifteen percent. Just lock the door and let it be."

"It's against procedure," Tony stated, but Jondy could hear the wavering indecision in his voice.

"No one has to know," Portman replied, his voice a seductive cadence for just letting the thing be.

"Fine," was Tony's gruff agreement and the door slammed shut. Jondy's sensitive ears picked up the distinctive sound of the lock clicking and her heartbeat accelerated as the truck rolled out of the lot.

This time tomorrow, she'd be somewhere warmer, and that much further from Manticore's grip.

Pulling out her new blanket and holding the food pail close, she closed her eyes and let the steady rumble of the engine lull her into a relaxed state.

* * *

"We may have something, Sir." Colonel Lydecker, informally called Lydecker by his superiors and universally known as the Colonel in the program, glanced up from the pile of paperwork he'd spent the last hour reviewing to find one of his operatives, Jason Kegan, standing in the door way.

His hair was a mess, his tie was loose, shirt cuffs rolled three quarters of the way up his elbows. His disorderly appearance put the Colonel's teeth on edge, but his expression…

"Where?"

"Salem, Oregon," came the rushed reply. "One of our operatives spotted a young, possible X5 trying to use a dumpster as a springboard to make it over a fifteen foot security fence."

"What was the fence for?"

"A trucking business, Sir."

"Contact the business, let them know they might have a juvenile escaped from a mental hospital on board."

"Already done, Sir."

"I want the helicopter ready in ten to take us there."

"Sir?"

"I'm making you primary on this one, Kegan."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir." The boys face flushed with pleasure and he was halfway out the door before The Colonel called him back.

"Kegan?"

"Sir?"

"Clean yourself up. Your appearance is fucking disgraceful."

The kids face fell so fast, the Colonel was surprised his nose didn't break from impact.

"Yes, Sir."

* * *

The Colonel studied the bloody trail to the on-site construction trailer, his expression unreadable as always.

"Sir, preliminary tests confirm; it was an X5."

"Male or female?"

"Female, Sir."

"Did our operative get a good look at her?"

"Uh," Kegan consulted his note pad. "about five two, skinny. Short, blond hair about chin length. She was wearing a scarf, so he couldn't get a look at her barcode."

Blonde hair. That limited it to two possible females right off the bat. 656, 452, 734, and 101 all had darker features and darker hair. Only 701 and 210 had the ethnic codes that could facilitate blond.

"How many trucks have left since he spotted her?"

"Two. One heading for Denver, the other for Phoenix."

"Have they both been informed of the situation?"

"Uh, Denver yes, but the Phoenix truck has a broken radio."

"Cell phone?"

"Not on record for the driver."

"What's his name?"

"Tony Everhardt. 6'3", 265 lbs. Uh, former Marine, Force Recon. Saw action in Desert Storm, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Kuwait." Kegan whistled. "Has an impressive mission history, half of which are blacked out."

"Unblack them," came the Colonel's harsh order.

"Yes, Sir." Kegan moved away, but a raised finger from Lydecker stopped him.

"Call ahead and have a TAC team meet me in Phoenix. I'll be there to meet them in three hours."

The Colonel straightened and looked Kegan dead in the eye.

"Alert all teams in the field to be on the lookout for this truck. Give a description of the truck, the driver, and the girl. I want her found, and I want her found now."

"Y-yes, Sir." Kegan stuttered, completely terrified by the fanatic gleam in the Colonel's eyes as he spoke.

He hadn't been hired until after the Pulse and the escape happened, and he'd been so happy to have a job that he'd ignored the various rumors about his new CO.

The Colonel had been in charge of the program since the inception of the X-series, way back in 1997. He'd started training these kids, these 'child soldiers' at the tender age of two.

Drills, training, formation, strategy, tactics, even hand-to-hand only months after they learned to walk. They were expected to pick up on these things quick and anyone who disappointed was quickly disassembled to determine the cause.

When they escaped, the Colonel had thrown a fit. He'd thrown all of the remaining X5's from their group into Psy-Ops for eval, but he hadn't stopped there.

He'd yanked twins, clones, X5 siblings, and X5's with barely passable behavior from not only Gillette, but all of the facilities across the US.

Kegan had seen one of these kids up in Seattle, when he'd first started working there in August of '09.

The kid had looked like a walking, talking skeleton. If his eyes hadn't been hazel, Kegan would have automatically assumed the child was albino.

His eyes, as color filled as they were, were dead. His stare hadn't wavered from the wall behind the Director's head the same as Kegan's never wavered from him as he stuttered out his report to Renfro.

His designation had been 494, the twin of the one of the escapees.

Kegan wondered if he was still alive.

A crash brought him back to the here and now and he quickly dialed his cell phone and got to work.

* * *

Jondy came to awareness instantly as silence descended.

The truck engine coupled with the radio and Tony's singing had been her lullaby for the last five hours, giving her some much needed down time.

It also, unfortunately, gave her bladder time to fill.

She could find a corner and use it as her toilet, but she was reluctant to soil her current safe haven since she had no idea how long she'd be in here.

She was formulating an extraction method when the tell tale sound of a lock clicking had her tensing.

Peeking out from her nest, she blinked as the door went sliding upwards and she got her first real glimpse of Tony.

He was taller, much taller than the Colonel. He had a beard, full, bushy, and reddish-brown.

He wore a pair of oil stained blue jeans, a shirt for something called 'Metallica' with a flannel shirt over that and a sweater with the sleeves ripped off over that.

He was muttering under his breath, holding a clipboard and pushing his ball cap up.

He was facing her, looking down at the clipboard, and Jondy knew she wouldn't be able to sneak past him until, at the very least, he turned his head, if at all.

He looked up suddenly and Jondy jerked her head back, heart pounding in her ears as she waited for a sign that he'd spotted her.

There was a period of silence, brief, before Tony started muttering again, Jondy's sensitive ears perking at the sound of his footsteps moving away.

Peering cautiously out from around the boxes, she did a visual scan to confirm what her ears had told her; he'd left.

Deciding that now was the best time to get out before someone came around, she slipped silently out from her nest and made her way to the bay door.

Peering cautiously out, she determined that no one was watching and quickly jumped the four feet to the ground.

Turning her head left, she examined her surroundings carefully before turning right.

And running smack dab into Tony.

He moved like a snake; scary fast. He had her arm in a grip in seconds.

Terrified, she reacted.

Twisting her arm to get out of his grip, she attempted a leg sweep, only to have it summarily blocked.

The punch she aimed for his stomach never reached its final destination either.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy there, filly. I'm not going to hurt you."

A life long distrust of adults had her staring up at him suspiciously, but a learned respect of authority figures had her stopping her attack as she waited for him to make the next move.

"Scrawny little thing, ain't you?" His gaze drifted down her petite frown and his mouth twisted in – disapproval?

She sneered up at him, causing him to laugh.

"But spunky. I like that. Come on," he turned and started walking, tugging her arm lightly to get her to keep pace.

"What are you doing?" Jondy asked when, after a few moments of walking, he had yet to offer an explanation for his actions.

"Feeding you," came the reply. "Then, we'll talk."

* * *

It was called pie and Jondy was in love.

It had fruit, real fruit, a crispy crust, the sweet taste of blueberries mixing with the whipped cream squirted on top that tasted so good, Jondy just barely kept from making a noise of pleasure.

"I think she likes it," came the guffaw from the man Tony had introduced as Smitty. Smitty's companion, a petite woman with big hair and big boobs, smacked him on the arm before smiling down at Jondy.

"Would you like another piece, honey?"

"Yes, please." After being hungry for so long, Jondy wasn't about to turn down food.

"One condition," Tony stated, causing her to look up, her last bite of pie balanced on her fork as she stared up at him. "Eat it slow. You're gonna make yourself sick, kid."

So far they'd called her honey, sweetheart, kid, princess, and Tony's new nickname, Filly.

She had yet to tell them her real name, but as time ticked by and none of them displayed anything but kindness, she wanted to.

"Here you go, sweetheart." Jondy accepted the new piece of pie from Jolene with a faint smile.

"Thank you, Ma'am." Jolene smiled back.

"So polite. Not something you see much these days." Smitty grunted his agreement around his ever present toothpick before turning his attention back to his paper. Jolene gave the pretty, but dirty, little angel one last smile before returning to the counter.

"Feeling better?" Jondy nodded briefly, putting down her fork as she eyed Tony.

"Why are you being nice to me?" She knew how to deceive, how to trick and torture information out of people, but the direct approach never hurt either. Besides, he'd been so nice, she didn't want to have to hurt him.

"You look like you could use a friend," Tony replied. And she did. At first glance, her head darting back around the pile of crates she'd been hiding behind, he'd gotten the distinct impression that this was a girl not used to the kindness of strangers.

The cuts and bruises going up and down her skinny arms and legs, plus the oversized, ill fitting clothing and the way it hung off her lanky frame indicated neglect.

What kind of monster would do something like this to a child?

Children were precious things; they deserved love, laughter, happiness, safety, and security, not fear, anger, pain, and betrayal.

He'd find out who did this to her and then he'd find them and make them regret it.

"Nice bruises," Tony nodded towards her arms.

Jondy pulled her shirt sleeves down in an effort to hide them before realizing what he'd made her do and frowning.

"Nice beard," she shot back, hunching defensively over her pie. Tony smiled at the rejoinder.

"Where'd you get them?"

"Here and there," she shot back, taking a sip of milk. She'd had a few seizures since the escape and milk and tryptophan seemed to help. Since tryptophan wasn't the easiest thing to come by, Jondy had settled for stealing it when she could find it and drinking milk the rest of the time.

"Here and there have a name?"

He thought she'd been abused Jondy realized with no small amount of amusement.

_If only he knew._

"Nunya," she shot back.

"As in none of your business?" Tony smirked as she scowled at him. She had spirit, that much was for sure.

"Where are you from originally?"

"Salem," Jondy shot back, not bothered in the least by the lie.

"Bullshit," Tony spoke easily, calmly. Jondy flinched under the accusation and turned her gaze to her pie.

"I can help you, honey," he bent forward and, if he hadn't been looking, he wouldn't have caught the way she jerked at that.

"What? What is it?"

"You can't help me," Jondy spoke low, her voice dropping several octaves as she tilted her head up slightly, her eyes dark with remembered pain.

"You don't know that."

Jondy laughed, a sudden bark, so unamused that all eyes turned to face them, expressions ranging from curious to annoyed. Jondy ducked back to her pie and Tony kept his gaze on her.

"They'll kill you," Jondy replied, her first genuinely honest sentence since he found her.

"They?" Jondy's grip on her fork tightened as she debated what to tell him.

"The people I'm running from," she replied, choosing her words carefully. "They'll kill to get me back."

Tony's first instinct was to scream foul and fall back on the age old saying that the kid's just trying to get attention, but she looked pained, so serious for an eleven year old, he decided to go with it.

"Back where?"

"I can't tell you. I _won't_ tell you." Jondy glanced forlornly down at her pie before setting her fork aside and leaning in to talk more privately.

"The night I got away, they shot one of my," she hesitated, "_friends_ in front of me. They shot at me and everybody else, too."

Tony didn't want to believe her anymore now than he had six sentences ago, but she was so haunted, so sad. Either she was one hell of an actress, or she was telling the truth.

"And you think they'll kill me, too."

"I know they will."

"Filly, I'm a former Marine, Force Recon. That makes me damn hard to kill."

"I could kill you," Jondy replied, a simple statement of fact that, nevertheless, sent chills down his spine.

"You could try," he corrected, over twenty years of training and experience backing his confidence.

Jondy did a quick survey before meeting his eyes.

"No." Chilling blue eyes met brown.

"Why is that?" Tony asked. Jondy's gaze darted sideways.

"Because it's what they trained us to do. That what we were made to do."

It took him a few seconds to process what she just said, but the second it cleared, every cell in him was screaming _Bullshit!_

"Aw, hell, honey, I don't know what they told you, but nobody made you to do anything. You may have felt like you had no choice, but you do."

Jondy looked over at the poor, ignorant ordinary, and felt an overwhelming wave of disillusionment hit.

Here in front of her was an ordinary human. He'd been ordinary since birth, born to two parents, loving or otherwise. His inception had been, given his age, natural more than likely. Egg meets sperm, the usual.

The sperm used to make her had been almost entirely artificial. It had come from somebody, but by the time they were finished with it, it had so many different DNA strands woven in, it was highly unlikely she resembled the original donor at all.

She had a mother; a single female who'd gone missing for a period of time. She'd have been either paid to keep quiet, killed, or shipped off somewhere where nobody would believe whatever crazy story she said.

The same crazy story, with some variations, Jondy was trying to impart to the man in front of her.

"No. They _made _me." Jondy met his eyes as she emphasized that fact.

She wasn't kidding. She wasn't just repeating something she heard; she was telling him something she knew to be fact.

"In vitro?" He hazarded, his best guess to what she was talking about.

"In part," she replied, fiddling with the straw in her milk. She was quiet for a few minutes, making a decision.

She didn't want him to die.

If they found him, with what little she told him, he could do just that. She needed to make him understand how dangerous they were.

"They created me from recombinant DNA," she started, watching his eyes as she spoke.

He was blown away at first by the fact that this little girl was using words like recombinant DNA, then by the actual meaning of what she just said.

"Created?" He repeated, just for clarification. She slowly nodded.

"Created. In the late 1980's a private corporation started running government funded experiments in genetic engineering. They wanted to create a new, twenty-first century bio weapon system that could be deployed during war for a decisive victory."

Bio weapon system, a living weapon. Her. Tony blinked, the only outward sign of his surprise.

Satisfied that he was following her story, she continued.

"We were designed using recombinant DNA harvested from a variety of sources. They wanted brains and brawn," she smirked at that. "They cloned DNA samples from people like Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Einstein, and Oppenheimer."

Tony arched an eyebrow, impressed by the grocery list of DNA sources.

"And then they looked other places for the brawn. We needed to be fast, agile, able to hear, see, and smell the enemy before anybody else. And the best way to do that was to look outside of human donors."

Jondy's gaze dropped to the table, to where her hands were clenched into fists.

"Everybody has feline DNA for agility and speed, Canine DNA for smell and hearing, and a bird of prey for sight. I'm not even human."

The last part was a whispered regret that struck a cord in Tony.

He'd seen men get that look in their eyes, after the battle was done and all that was left was the carnage.

Carnage they help put there.

You killed people in war. It was that simple. Sometimes, though, you killed a part of yourself as well.

Tony had been there more than a few times. He'd gotten to the point where he'd wake up in the morning and ask himself _what am I?_

Man or Monster?

The little girl in front of him was no monster.

"Listen to me, girl," his stern voice had her jerking upright, her spine ramrod straight, years of training and conditioning triggering that response to the authority in his voice.

"You're just as human as anybody," he murmured, careful to keep his voice down given the sensitivity of the subject. "Don't you ever let me hear you say that again."

"Why not?" Jondy was somewhat mystified by his violent response. "I am part animal."

"And you're also part human. That alone gives you the same rights as the rest of us. I look at you and I see a little girl who's gonna blossom into a fine young woman some day."

Jondy blushed at that, ducking her head again. She knew she was going to be pretty; they'd been designed that way after all.

"You've got hopes, you've got dreams and _that's_ what ultimately matters. Your DNA don't mean jackshit in the grand scheme of things. This," he placed his head over his chest, where his heart was, thumping his fist against it again to emphasis his point. "This is what really matters."

"All you need is love?" Tony roared with laughter and Jondy cracked a small smile. She'd heard that one night soon after the escape. She'd been hiding in a back alley in Cheyenne and some guy in dreads smelling like marijuana had attracted a crowd, preaching the 'word'.

"Heart, smart ass. All you need is heart. You've got that and you're set. The greatest things come from within."

He was smiling at her, wide and so happy, that she couldn't help but smile back.

"Jondy," she started, ducking her head again, suddenly shy as she peered up at him from underneath her fringe.

"That's the name the others gave me." She explained.

"Well, Jondy, it's nice to meet you. My name's Tony Everhardt."

"Nice to meet you, Tony," she primly shook his hand, proud of herself for knowing that much at least.

"Now, Jondy, what do you say we hit the road and you can explain some more about this secret government project."

"Manticore," Jondy stated as they got to their feet and Tony dropped a few bills on their table to pay for the meal and as a tip for the waitress. Jondy smiled at Jolene and Smitty as they exited.

"It's called Project Manticore."

* * *

"Anything?"

"A truck fitting the description passed through Redding six hours ago."

"Any sign of the girl?"

"Negative, Sir." The Colonel gripped his radio tighter, jaw clenched in frustration.

Two years and this was the first substantial lead he had. Two years of looking for these goddamn kids and like hell was he going to come away from this with a failure under his belt.

He wanted his kids back where they belonged; home and under control back at Manticore. They didn't know how close they'd come to destroying not only his dream but…

"Sir! We may have something!"

The Colonel accepted the proffered radio from one of his lieutenants and placed it next to his ear.

_{…the hell was that? Did you see that? She just fucking jumped it! A twelve foot fence!}_

_{I say again, Car 224. What is the situation, over?}_

_{Uh, this is Peters. Uh, _damn!_ We've got a female juvenile, approximately five two, Hispanic, with, uh, dark hair, black, I think. _Jesus! _She just took down McGee! _The Fuck! _Jansen! You fucking saw that, didn't you!}_

_{Peters! What the fuck is going on?} _A voice roared down the line.

_{We've got a situation, sir. This girl, my partner caught her stealing from the local hospital pharmacy. When we tried to arrest her she went all kung fu on our asses. We've been chasing her through back alley's ever since.}_

_{What's your location?}_

Peters rattled off an address in downtown Phoenix and the Colonel swore.

Dark hair, able to leap a twelve foot fence, and Hispanic. 452 or 101.

The Colonel was torn. Catching either 210 and 701 would be a coup, for sure, but catching 452…

He didn't like to play favorites, but he had a soft spot for the doe eyed female, at least, as close to a soft spot a man such as him could have.

She'd been cloned from his wife, given enough of her likeness that she could have passed as her daughter if they'd been able to stand side to side.

And she wasn't just special to him.

"Split the teams," the Colonel ordered. "I want half of you with me, the other half stay here with Gibbs. Find the girl."

The implied _or else_ didn't need clarification. Gibbs had seen the Colonel shoot people for less.

* * *

"California." Tony sat on the back edge of his truck and stared at the sunny expanse of green in front of him.

"California," Jondy agreed, eagerly licking up the ice cream cone he'd bought both of them after arriving at this park.

"I don't feel comfortable just leaving you here."

"You're not leaving me anywhere," Jondy replied. "I'm staying."

"You're eleven years old."

"I'm a genetically enhanced killing machine who could kill a grown man with my thumb and pinky."

"Yeah, but you're _eleven._ Child services aren't going to ask for your specifications when they find you."

"So I won't let them find me."

"And you'll, what? Live on the streets? I don't want you to take this the wrong way, Filly, but you're not doing so hot. You kind of smell."

"Gee, I wonder how I can _not_ take that the wrong way." Jondy's dry tone had him laughing, a full blown belly laugh. People turned and looked at them, smiling at the small girl enjoying an ice cream with her father.

"Seriously. You need a safe, clean place to lay low."

"I can't be in the system," Jondy stated, rubbing her hand across her barcoded neck for emphasis.

"You don't have to be," Tony finished his ice cream and pulled out his cell phone, dialing a number from memory.

"Jake? Hey, man, it's Tony. I need a favor."

* * *

Jondy stared at the paperwork in front of her before looking up at Tony.

"This had to cost money."

"You're worth it."

She wanted to cry, really, she did. Instead she did the next best thing.

She hugged him, almost as tight as she could.

"Thank you," she breathed, sniffing as tears made their way into her eyes despite her resolve."

"No worries, kid," came his gruff reply as he squeezed her just as tight.

They'd only had a couple of hours, but it might as well have been a lifetime for the both of them.

"Be careful," Jondy warned, taking a step back. "If they find you…"

"I can play dumb with the best of them," Tony replied, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"You be careful kid," he echoed her own warning before exiting, leaving her alone in her new home.

She had a home, a _real _home.

And a family.

According to her paperwork, she was the younger sister of one Tawsha Varden. Tawsha was a tall, blonde haired, brown eyed female with a quirky smile and a great sense of humor.

Jake had set this up, with Tony acting as the payroll. Birth certificate, social security number, sector pass and even a library card.

She stared at the papers for hours, her thoughts reverberating through her head.

_She was real._

She was a real person now.

All her doubts, all her fears, disappeared as her spirit soared. She'd fight now.

She'd fight to live this brand new life.

* * *

There were cops and men in full out TAC gear waiting for him in Phoenix.

"Tony Everhardt?"

"That's my name."

Hopping down from the cab, he scanned the circus around him before centering his attention on the man who had spoken.

"There a reason for this?"

"We believe you may be harboring a fugitive escaped from a juvenile institute for the criminally insane in Salem."

"In Salem?" Tony stared at him. "And you wait until now to tell me I might have a crazy kid hitching a ride?"

"We tried to contact you, Sir. Your radio's broken and your cell number is unavailable."

"My route was on file. You could have stopped me anywhere else down the line."

"No, Sir, it wasn't. Do you mind opening your trailer?"

Tony shrugged his shoulder, tossing him the keys.

"You open it."

That earned him a dirty look, but he didn't care. Adopting a mulish expression, he crossed his arms and waited.

Gibbs double checked to make sure his team was at the ready with their tasers before unlocking the door.

X5 females were vicious bitches, especially when you backed them into a corner, and whichever one this was, she was most definitely pinned.

He threw up the back trailer and took a step back, bringing his gun up at the same time, just waiting for that tell tale blur.

Instead, he got nothing.

"Johnson, Graves." The two men moved silently through the trailer until they reached the back.

"We've got something, Sir!"

"The girl?" Gibbs was trotting after them in seconds.

"No, Sir. But she was definitely here."

A blanket, an empty backpack, and bloody scraps.

Gibbs gritted his teeth as he stared around the cargo filled trailer, looking for the one thing that wasn't there: a genetic weapon escaped from their facility.

"Where is she?" Tony blinked as the man, Gibbs, got right up into his face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, mister, but if you don't get out of my face I will lay the smackdown on your ass so fast you'll be talking to your dead grandma before you know it."

"Is that a threat?" Gibbs had been in Special Forces; he was just as bad the next man, but Tony Everhardt…some of the things Gibbs had read in his file made Gibbs himself look like choir boy in comparison.

"That's a fucking promise, boy." His voice low, the threat was obvious, and judging from the look in his eyes, Everhardt was just itching to put him down, and put him down hard.

Though it killed his pride, Gibbs took that step back and repeated his question.

"Where is she?"

"Where is who?" Tony asked, staring down at him with an intense look of someone gathering information.

"The girl. She was in the back of your trailer for over twelve hours and you're telling me you never heard her?"

"Kid, have you ever driven one of these bad boys?" Tony patted his hand on the side of the truck. "Things damn near as loud as a C-130 dropping bodies over Afghanistan. There could have been a ritual slaughter going on back here and I wouldn't have heard a damn thing."

"You're trained. You're telling me you didn't notice anything? Didn't feel anything?" Gibbs stared intensely at the man. With his training, this guy could have recognized a threat from several miles away. He would have had to have known something was up, especially if he was transporting something as dangerous as the weapons system that was known as X5 Two One Zero.

"Boy, this is Post-Pulse America. Everything feels wrong, especially if you're a trucking man. Like I said, a ritual sacrifice could have been going on without my knowing. Sides, why the hell would I be afraid of a _girl_?"

Gibbs stared at him for several long moments, evaluating his reactions before breaking the silence.

"We're going to need to check out the rest of your truck," Gibbs motioned for two of his men to do just that.

"Knock yourselves out. It's a company vehicle."

It took them two hours to go through everything with a fine tooth comb and in the end they got exactly what Tony expected them to get: nothing.

"You mind if I grab some grub? It's been a couple of hours since I last ate."

"And where was that?"

"Rosalie's Diner, just outside of Pasadena."

Gibbs relayed that information to one of the strike teams. They'd check the area out and report their findings back over the next couple days.

"You can go," Gibbs allowed. "But we'll be in touch."

"Looking forward to it," Tony shot back with absolutely no sincerity.

Gibbs waited until he was out of sight to motion Wilkerson over.

"I want a team on him, the works. He knows something and I want to know what."

"Yes, Sir," Wilkerson didn't question his orders and didn't hesitate in his execution of them. Less than an hour later, Tony Everhardt had more camera's trained on him than Big Brother could ever dream of.


	2. Miami

**June, 2016**

**Hollister, CA**

Jondy perched on the roof of the highest building in Hollister and took stock of her life.

She was a sixteen year old genetically enhanced killing machine who'd just graduated high school and was contemplating her options.

Her 'sister' had moved away last year, a middle of the night move that rivaled any covert op Jondy had ever been on.

"It's time for a change," had been Tawsha's explanation, her amber eyes twinkling with mischief. "You should come with."

"Maybe," Jondy had replied. "After Tony visits."

"Tony, Tony, Tony. I swear, if he were twenty years younger, I'd think you were in love with the man."

Those words sent a chill down her spine, sparking a memory that was better left buried.

She'd been thirteen. Tony had been visiting her off and on after he lost his Manticore appointed shadows.

She'd been feeling odd all day, more 'touchy feely' as Tawsha had put it. When Tony had stopped by, Tawsha had made herself scarce, as per their usual routine. They were days Jondy would make herself scarce so Tawsha could 'visit' an old friend.

They'd been sitting in the living room, shooting the breeze and eating the pizza Tony had brought with him, when Jondy curled up into his side.

"You smell good," had been her murmured words as she rubbed her head against his chest.

"Ah, Jondy?" Tony had sounded nervous, a first.

_It's kind of cute_ had been her uncharacteristic thought.

She'd purred as she cuddled against him.

If she'd been thinking clearly, she would have recognized that something was off.

But she hadn't. She'd crawled into his lap and half-molested him before he managed to get her off.

She may have been stronger, but he wasn't nothing to sneeze at either. He tied her up secure as anything and dumped in the shower, turning the dial to cold.

It'd been a rude awakening in more ways than one.

He'd spent the night in the bathroom with her, careful to keep her bonds secure, turning on the water when she started to get too fidgety.

She'd come out of her funk two days later and immediately started crying.

It was a testament to his trust and faith in her that Tony didn't hesitate to hold her as she sobbed herself to sleep.

When she woke up, he'd already formulated several theories, the most likely one at the top of the list.

It was called an Estrus cycle and it was specific to her canine and feline DNA. Basically, a couple of times a year, she was going to go into heat like some sort of animal, crawling the walls looking for a mate.

Anyone and everyone qualified, as long as they were male.

She'd cried some more before Tony had talked her out of her funk.

"You can't change what is, so deal with it how you can." He'd occupied their last twenty-four hours together compiling a list of warning sides and possible ways to overcome it slash restrain herself during her cycle.

It'd taken a few trial and error runs, with one disastrous encounter with a seventeen year old at her school, before they'd perfected the method.

Like everything bad, she'd forced herself to acknowledge what had happened with the other teenager and move on.

Her saving grace was the fact that Tony had arranged a birth control prescription for her through Tawsha.

No little 2-1-0's running around out there any time soon.

She'd gotten better at the heat thing, too. Tying herself up, or restraining herself to cold showers and push-ups had gotten old, so she'd reverted to an old stand-by: she'd looked it up on the internet.

Searching through veterinarian databases, she'd discovered a small list of anti-heat drugs.

She'd put her sneak and creep skills to good work, hitting all the local animals shelters and clinics for her supply.

Two she'd nixed right off the bat; one made you sterile after a couple of doses, the other had been ruled toxic to human's by the FDA. Even though she was part feline, she was still part human and it wasn't a risk she was willing to take.

That just left one. Ovaban. It's side effects included a wide variety of problems that Jondy was reluctant to use the cross your fingers and pray for luck method with.

So she did some altercations. Her high school chemistry lab, though crude, was passable.

She'd altered the Ovaban, isolating key factors in heat suppressing and adding other medications to deal with the side effects.

She'd broken into a lot of places, including hospitals and research labs, and performed at least three separate experiments before she found a dose that worked for her.

She could take it for two heats a year, and then the third had to be unregulated or she got sick.

"That's impressive, J-girl," Tony had told her after she'd explained her experiment last year.

"It's in the genes," Jondy had grinned wryly.

"Nah, that was something special. Something all you. Maybe you should be a doctor or something."

"A doctor?"

Given her repulsion with all things Manticore and everything that reminded her of them, she should have been horrified with the idea of becoming a doctor.

Instead, she was intrigued.

Now, sitting on the roof waiting for her biannual visit from Tony, Jondy found herself seriously contemplating his suggestion.

Imagine the irony; a genetically enhanced killing machine saving lives instead of taking them.

It'd be the ultimate slap in the face of Manticore. It went against all their training to care, but here she was.

A warm breeze blew across her cheek, bringing with it the cool scent of the ocean and…

Her eyes snapped open and she was on her feet in a flash, whirling around, fists at the ready, as she confronted the man behind her.

He stayed where he was in the exact position he'd been in for God knows how long and just stared.

No witty retorts, no smart-ass rejoinders, just staring. At each other. For a lo-_ong_ time.

She'd been relatively patient back at Manticore, a real saint compared to some of her siblings, but this version of the waiting game was just plain aggravating.

"You gonna do anything other than just stand there, cause you know, it gets old."

The man smiled, a half of his mouth quirked, the other half sort of frowning kind of smile.

"Hey, baby sister."

Her fists dropped along with her jaw. Centering herself and recovering from her bought of surprise, she narrowed her eyes as she studied him.

That face, those eyes, that smile…another breeze brought his scent, clear and direct, to her noise, and she whooped with delight as she threw herself at him.

"Zack!"

Arms and legs wrapped around him like an octopus, she squeezed with all her might and, after a seconds pause, he returned the favor, teaching her one of her first lessons about grown X5's: males are stronger than females.

"Hey! Hey! Ow!" Zack immediately released her, shuffling his feet, his expression dropping to the ground in obvious embarrassment.

"Sorry," he apologized with a wince.

"Nothing to be sorry about, big brother," Jondy gave him a friendly punch to the shoulder. "I just didn't realize how strong you'd gotten. Course, I should have figured. You were always one of the strongest."

Her smile was so wide she was surprised her face didn't crack.

"How'd you find me? How long are you in town for? Do you know where the others are? Can I see talk to them? Can I see them?"

"Whoa, there, Jondy. Slow down," Zack found himself smiling at his siblings antics.

It was a far cry from Tinga's furtive, secretive glances, her guilt stemming from a boyfriend and a ring on her finger. Brin had stared at him in awe, a light hug the best she did for physical contact. Krit had been pleased to see him, but Krit's version of hello had been some manly slaps on the back and a beer. Zack had taken both with heartfelt relief that not only had he found him, but he'd been happy.

Syl had been her usual grumpy self. The first words out of her mouth had been 'What took you so long?'

Vada had welcomed him with a cool hello. They'd always joked that she had more snake DNA than feline; she was capable of being as cold hearted as any of them.

Seth had reacted about as well as Zack had expected: he'd told him to go to hell and punctuated it with a right hook worthy of the masters. They'd had themselves a good old fashioned smackdown, stopping just shy of internal bleeding, which Zack had won.

They'd fixed each other up, had a couple of beers, and split, with Zack heading south and Seth going north.

Ben had been the worst; he'd been so broken, so lost, that Zack had spent the last year with him, trying to keep him in line, sane. Whole.

It was an uphill battle, one Zack was pretty sure he had no chance of winning.

Nik had been an accidental find. They'd run into each other at a gas station in Oklahoma. A few tense moments later, they'd recognized each other's scents, but they still didn't fully relax.

Nik had been leery of his authority, but Zack had quickly proved his dominance with a few well placed blows. Pinned, Nik had reluctantly submitted, but it was still a sore point between them.

Zane had been the biggest surprise. Charming, charismatic, with a great sense of humor, he'd had a lot of friends, his fair share of girlfriends, and a German Shepherd named Doxie.

He'd proved himself to be surprisingly adept at dog training; Doxie responded to commands in seven different languages and never hesitated in execution or withdrawl.

Zane had gallantly volunteered Zack for a demonstration.

Suffice to say, the next time he visited, Zack was bringing a steak for Doxie and nothing for Zane.

Kavi was his ghost. He'd found the kid by accident and gotten the surprise of his life. Kavi had always been the quiet one, oddly contemplative. Where Ben had looked outside for a saving influence, Kavi had constantly been forming internal evaluations.

He'd been in Montana, living in some sort of commune, an almost religious figure with his profound thoughts and well worded explanations.

"No worries, big brother," Kavi had smiled at him, ignorant of Ben and his quest for the Blue Lady, but understanding enough to comprehend that his current lifestyle made Zack uneasy.

"I'm just a regular kid. I'll probably be gone soon, anyways."

Though it made him uneasy, Zack had let him stay, giving him the contact number in case of emergencies and so Kavi could call him when he relocated.

Zack was gonna give him another month before he made him move regardless.

That had left Max and Jondy. Zack had searched frantically for them, knowing that wherever one was, there was an increased likelihood of the other being not far behind.

He'd arrived in Hollister seven days ago, locating Jondy in twenty-four hours. He'd spent the rest of his time watching her, studying her habits, identifying her strengths and weaknesses, and cataloguing the changes all these years in the outside world has wrought.

She smiled more, and the smile actually reached her eyes. There were days, back at Manticore, where she would smile for Max or Ben or one of the others, and her lips would move, but her eyes would stay dead.

She was by no means careless, she had her barcode lasered off, she paid in cash both for the action and the silence. She kept her eyes peeled for tails on her journey home.

She didn't advertise her abilities; she was an okay student, a decent athlete, nothing special but by no means slow.

She'd graduated yesterday.

He'd stood in the back, downwind, and watched.

It was the first time he'd been to a high school graduation and, watching Jondy's face shine as she accepted her diploma, he decided he didn't want it to be his last.

Zane and Krit were both still in school; he'd make sure to be there when they graduated.

If they graduated. With lives such as theirs, the first lesson they learned was that there were no guarantees in life.

"Come on," Jondy beamed at him, grabbing his hand and tugging him towards the stairs. "My apartment's just across the street."

* * *

"Anybody home?" Zack was on his feet in a flash, weapon drawn and trained on this intruder.

Tony blinked at the teenage boy before turning his attention to Jondy, eyebrow arching.

"Friend of yours?" Jondy smiled again as she gave Tony a gentler version of a hug before grabbing the pizza and coke from him and setting it on the table.

"Zack, meet Tony. Tony, this is my big brother Zack."

"Brother?" Tony questioned, doing a double take. Jondy laughed.

"It's a turn of phrase. We're not actually related."

"You know this, because? Did they tell you?"

"No. We can smell it," Jondy tapped her nose for emphasis, grabbing plates and cups and setting them on the table.

"You want ice with your coke, Zack? Zack?"

Zack stared at the man in front of him. On the outside, he was nothing special. Big, taller than him. Outweighed him by at least fifty pounds. Brown eyes, gray beard.

But he knew the truth. Zack's gaze turned to Jondy, his stare accusing. Jondy stared back, completely unphased.

"He's family, Zack," she stated by way of an explanation.

"He's a liability."

"I've been telling her that for years," Tony cut their argument short as he opened the 2 liter of pop and started pouring.

Unsure how to proceed, Zack uncharacteristically shut up and sat down and reverted back to a favorite X5 past time: he ate.

"Tony saved my ass five years ago. He set me up here and has been helping me out ever since."

"So you told him the truth."

"I told him the truth in exchange for some pie," Jondy replied with a straight face, causing Zack to hesitate, pizza slice halfway to his mouth, and stare at her in stunned disbelief.

"It was good pie."

"The best damn pie in the state," Tony agreed, wiping his face with a napkin.

It really irked Zack how blasé the man's attitude was about the situation: this was serious shit and he'd appreciate it if the man acted in an accordable manner.

"He paid for papers, a birth certificate, a sector pass, and even a library card. He gave me a life, Zack. And I owe him for it."

"You want to keep him safe? Cut him loose. Cause if they find him – "

"They won't," both Jondy and Tony spoke at the same time, sharing a quick smile before Tony continued.

"I'm ex Force Recon, boy. I know how to watch my back and I know how to take care of someone should the situation call for it." Meeting the kids gaze, Tony made sure his message was clear: he'd kill to protect Jondy and he wouldn't feel bad about it either.

Jondy was like a daughter to him and you protected family at all cost.

Judging from the look in his eyes, Zack was sharing the same line of thought.

"It doesn't matter anyways," Jondy interrupted them, causing both of them to jerk their heads to stare at her. "I'm leaving."

"Jondy-" Tony started, but she cut him off with a quick shake of her head.

"It's not that I don't appreciate what you did for me, cause I do. I really do. But face it, Tony: I've been lucky. Five years in one spot, going against an organization like Manticore…I should have left four years ago."

Tony wanted to protest, but he couldn't. She was making a sound, logic-based argument and though emotion may have a problem, the tactical part of his brain agreed.

"It's time for a change. I need a new identity, new papers. A new life. And it's safer, and better, if…" Jondy hesitated, stumbling as she fought for a way to say the words without losing it.

"It's better if we cut off contact."

"At least for now," Jondy rushed. "I want to see again. I _will_ see you again. It's just, it's not safe, especially not now. Manticore was unstable when you first found me: by now they'd have pulled themselves back together. They have people looking for me, for us," her head tilted toward Zack, "and these people have no qualms about collateral damage. You're nothing to them."

_Cold-hearted sons of bitches._

Tony was damn near close to tears himself.

He loved this girl, loved her fiercely, and though it was gonna tear him up inside real good, he was gonna let her go.

"You ever, ever need me, just call."

"Photographic memories good for at least one thing," Jondy gave him a watery smile before lunging across the table for a last big hug.

"So when are you leaving?" Tony asked.

"Tonight," Jondy replied, causing Zack to jerk upright.

"I visited some people, made some arrangements. Janey Pierce is a recent pre-med grad, heading for med school at the good old University of Miami."

"Florida?"

"I have a thing against the cold," her eyes got this far away, haunted gleam, and Zack knew why.

It'd always been cold in Gillette, even in the middle of July the temperature never rose above fifty.

"Well then," Tony smiled and held up the movie he'd brought with him.

"Superman, anyone?"

* * *

He'd been gone for fifteen minutes when Jondy slipped out her apartment door for the last time, locking the door with a decisive click before placing the key above the door.

Zack waited for her at the bottom of the steps, hands in his pockets.

They hadn't said a lot, with Zack being reluctant to talk in front of Tony, but from what little articulation they had exchanged, he'd made it clear he was going with her.

"It's a long trip," she spoke, turning from the door to peer down at him. "You sure you want to come?"

"It'll give us time to catch up," Zack replied, hunching his shoulders as he stared up at her, his face quirking into a faint smile.

"Sides, I've got transportation."

Transportation turned out to be an Aprilia SL 1000 Falco, black with red trimming.

"She's gorgeous," Jondy breathed, running her hands lightly down the side.

Tawsha had a bike, but she'd taken it with her when she'd left. It'd been months since Jondy had ridden one.

Eyes shining, she turned her face to Zack and danced in place.

"Can I drive?"


	3. Tony & Knight

**A/N: **Explanation time: this was written so many years ago I don't even remember. It was originally part of the _original_ '13' series idea. It's complete enough to stand on it's own right now, so enjoy.

**September, 2018**

**Miami, FL**

She was a prodigy: med school in three years (according to her paperwork), internship in one. The residents loved her, the patients adored her, and the rest of the staff genuinely liked her.

Jondy smiled at her roommate, Carmen Carpenter, as the two of them ate lunch in the hospital cafeteria.

"I'm just saying it's unhealthy girl; fine boy like that you haven't gotten it on once with him?"

"Nope." Jondy smirked at Carmen's disbelieving look. "He's practically my brother."

"Practically don't make him any relation. You don't share blood, do you?" Jondy shook her head when it became apparent that Carmen actually expected her to respond.

"Then there ain't nothing stopping you from getting yourself a little somethin' somethin'."

Jondy bit her lip to keep from laughing. The next time she saw Zack, she was so relating this conversation. He'd be horrified to know that her roommate had a monumental crush on him.

He'd damn near have a fit once the 'why aren't _you_ sleeping with him' portion of this conversation came up.

He visited irregularly, what with variety being the spice of life and all. The only solid fact she could rely on was that he stopped in at least twice a year.

She loved when he visited and hated when he left.

She could still remember that first time.

"Are you sure you have to go? Can't you stay with me for a little while longer?"

She felt safer when he was around. He was big brother, he'd protected her from the very first day she'd been assigned to his squad.

He was her big, badass teddy bear wrapped up in one hell of a lethal package.

"You know I can't. It isn't safe."

She wanted to tell him to fuck safe, but she kept her mouth shut. She'd moved to the opposite side of the country for safe. It'd be disrespectful of not only herself, but Tony, not to mention downright stupid, for her to throw all that away now.

"So, will I see you again?" Zack had smiled at her, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear before grabbing her by the back of the neck and pulling her in for a hug.

"You can bet on it, baby sister."

He'd left her with five thousand in cash, and the bike.

"Consider it a birthday present for Janey Pierce," had been his cryptic answer to her question of why.

It was the best birthday present Janey, and Jondy, had ever gotten.

It was her baby and everybody on staff new it. Touch it and you'd face the wrath of Janey.

She loved her life here; she even had boyfriend.

His name was Jake, no relation to Tony's Jake. He was tall, good-looking, with dimples, and completely innocent of any knowledge of her past.

He knew her as Janey Pierce, medical prodigy, daughter of two medical doctors, deceased in a car accident twelve years ago. She had no siblings, save for an older brother, adopted, who traveled for his job and stopped by every once in a while. Her parents had been told they were sterile, so Janey had been their miracle baby.

She loved his smile, his hugs, his kisses, the talks they shared. And she hated knowing that it was all fake. That someday, somehow, the Colonel was going to track her down and she was going to have to run without looking back.

She'd miss him, but she wouldn't come back for him.

He was going to ask her to marry him soon. She'd found the ring a few days ago.

She was still deciding what to do, though, really, it wasn't much of a decision. Either tell him no and break his heart, or disappear before he managed to pop the question.

It was her primary internal debate of the week and she spent every minute she wasn't otherwise occupied thinking of alternative solutions.

"Hey, Pierce," Jameson Ottoman, one of the nurses, poked his head in the cafeteria and called out her name.

"Yo," Jondy gathered her stuff and got to her feet.

"They've got a gunshot victim coming in with head trauma and possible stabbing wounds. Geyson thinks this is right up your alley."

"ETA?"

"Five minutes, Southwest Entrance B. OR 7 is clear and ready for use."

"Be there in three."

"Later, girl," Carmen leaned back against the tabled, her long, lanky legs stretched out in front of her as she turned her attention to the newest male intern.

_That girl has got to find a hobby_, Jondy thought with no small amount of amusement as she made her way out the door.

She was suited up and waiting outside of the Southwest Entrance B when the ambulance came screeching up.

Her first clue about the severity of the situation came from the first paramedic out the door.

He was a black man, dark skinned, bleached pale and visibly sweating with the stink of fear and horror coming off him in waves.

"White male, approximately nineteen years of age. BP's 80 over 50, pulse is thready and weak. He's bleeding like a stuck pig and it's bad."

"Alright, Tyrone. Thanks, we'll take it from here."

Jondy's gut hit the floor as they pulled him out of the back of the ambulance.

Visual stimuli hit her first.

Tyrone hadn't been kidding when he said it was bad. Three gun shot wounds, a damn close knife strike that practically eviscerated him, and a slightly misshapen skull from where it'd been bashed in by something in the back.

There was no way this kid should even be alive.

At least, that was her thought until she caught his scent.

_Transgenic._

X5 to be specific. There were variations in their genetic mixes, but X5's had a distinctive, underlying musky odor.

He was vaguely familiar, but none of her siblings were west coast bound, save for Ben, and this guy definitely wasn't Ben, which left the inevitable conclusion that he was Manticore.

They'd be coming for him.

Her first instinct was to bolt, to get the hell out of there before the stormtroopers came busting down the doors.

All thoughts of running went out the window when she saw his hand rise and his eyes flutter.

"Jesus Christ. This kids still conscious?"

"We gave him a sedative, but it's already starting to wear off." Tyrone explained.

"Kid must have one hell of a metabolism," Geyson muttered, motioning for them to push the gurney inside.

"Pupils are responsive to light," Jondy noted, flashing the light quickly in his eyes. "No concussion."

"No, just a bashed in skull. Get somebody from neurology down here; I want this looked at."

"Blood type him, Francois."

"I'll do it," Jondy intercepted Francois, her hands shaking as she performed the test. This guy was Manticore and it didn't bode well for anybody if news of his odd blood got out.

"O+," Jondy announced, hazarding that it was the best blood to get the job done. If it was going to work, which she didn't think it would.

He was X5. He was gonna need X5 blood.

She had a stash, carefully siphoned off of herself just in case she, or Zack, or one of her other siblings ever needed it.

"I'll get some from the bank," Jondy was out the door in a flash, grabbing her stash from where she hid it and rushing back, damn near blurring as she raced down the hall.

Hooking him up, with that out of the way, she set about stabilizing him.

They put him through X-ray. His skeletal structure was normal enough; two of the bullets had to come out, the other was a through and through.

Geyson was prepped from surgery when another Resident, Fulker, came busting in.

"We've got a semi meets bus, lots of casualties. Chief's called every available resident and intern in on it."

"Pierce, think you can handle this?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Then it's all yours. Good luck."

Geyson didn't think he was going to make it. Jondy wasn't sure, either, but she knew one thing: she, like him, wasn't giving up without a fight.

She was left with two nurses, one to assist primarily with the surgery, the other to wipe away her sweat and hand her the necessary tools.

Six hours later, he was moved to ICU. He was given the name John Doe #287.

His designation was 556. He was in bad shape, too.

He'd had multiple broken bones in addition to all of the visible damage, and his shoulder had been wrenched out of socket. The neurologist had stopped in, straightened out his skull, drilling a hole to relieve pressure, before telling her that prayer was basically the best medical chance he had.

Maybe it was the fact that nobody else seemed to believe he was going to make it that had Jondy fighting so hard for him.

She spent the night next to his bed, head cradled in her arms, his uninjured arm carefully placed against her bare one, the skin on skin contact comforting.

"He's not going to wake up, Janey," Geyson handed her young colleague a steaming cup of coffee two days later, eyes sad as she took in the all too still form on the bed in front of them.

"Give him a chance," Jondy replied, accepting the coffee with an anxious smile. She didn't normally require a lot of sleep, so she'd found various ways of passing the time. The last two days, however, the second her shift was over, she'd been in here, touching his skin, checking his vitals. Searching for signs of life outside of his weak ass pulse and fluttering eyes.

X5 healing should have kicked in by now.

She waited for Geyson to leave before pulling up her usual chair and leaning forward to whisper in his ear.

"You don't know me, soldier, but I'm the one who put you back together again. If you die, you're really going to piss me off. I put a lot of time and effort into fixing your sorry ass; the least you could do is wake up to thank me."

Leaning back to survey the outcome of her pathetic little speech, she sighed when she got nothing.

"Well," she placed her arm against his and grabbed the remote in her opposite hand.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Homer."

Settling in for the night, she let the soothing sounds of Homer, Bart, Lisa, and Marge lull her to sleep.

* * *

Movement had her waking up, coming to full alertness in a matter of seconds.

More movement, coming from her left, had her jerking her head to find herself staring in wide eyed surprise as the previously unconscious and now wide awake 556.

"Where am I?" He asked, blinking at her.

She was X5, that much he could sense. She was also dressed like a doctor, which was severely outside the norm; Manticore was notorious for making damn sure it's experiments stayed just that, experiments. Putting one of them in a lab coat, even if it was just for kicks, was a damn near impossibility.

"Miami State Hospital," Jondy replied automatically, blinking at him. "You were brought in two days ago with gunshot wounds, damn near gutted, and a nicely smashed in skull."

"Those the medical terms for everything?"

"GSW, stabbing, and blunt force trauma to the posterior skull," Jondy shot back, miffed by the fact that not only was he awake, but he was also acting like a smart ass.

"Touchy," 556 grinned faintly at the female, his head pounding. "I don't suppose you have any morphine hooked up in one of those lovely bags?"

Jondy obediently moved to adjust his level before returning to her seat.

"We have a problem."

"No shit." Jondy's eyes narrowed.

Maybe it was the pain. Maybe something in his brain that controlled his thought-mouth process was busted, so now he had the proverbial diarrhea of the mouth.

"Geez, how in the hell did you ever pass Mission 101?"

Or maybe he was just a jackass.

"I didn't," Jondy replied, her voice icy as she crossed her arms, immediately attracting his attention.

"In case it escaped your attention, genius. You're in an ordinary hospital, with ordinary doctors and ordinary nurses who are gonna shit themselves when they come in here in the morning and find you halfway to walking after injuries that should have taken weeks to heal."

"When they find you, they are going to run tests and they're going figure out pretty damn quick that you're packing more than the usual human DNA structures. And then they'll crate you up and ship you out to some CDC lab in Iceland and you'll probably never see daylight again."

"You have a horrible bedside manner." She looked damn near ready to hit him, which made him smile.

For some unfathomable reason, he liked her. Oh, he'd figured out she was an '09er about five seconds after he'd caught her scent. There was a complete absence of any other X5 scent, which, if she'd been at Manticore, would have been an impossibility, even if she was on a deep cover assignment. Pack scent was instinctive, a primal awareness she was so not giving off.

She'd been here the last two days, too. His brain drudged up sensory memory of skin on skin contact and her scent, warm and inviting, curling around him, speaking to him, calling him back from the dark place he'd retreated to.

She was probably the only reason he was alive.

"They'll be coming for me soon," he continued when all she was did was glower at him.

"How would they know? Did you have partners?"

"No," he replied. "But I missed my check in. They'll send a team in to retrieve me."

"Touchy about the check-ins, aren't they?" Jondy made a show of checking his lines, but she could practically feel him smiling.

"What?"

"You're cute when you're flustered."

Her smile dropped, her scowl returned, and she just barely resisted the urge to hit him.

"You sleep, right?" 556 blinked, surprised by the abrupt change of conversation.

"Yes. Doesn't everybody?"

"You've never met an X5 with shark DNA?"

556 stared at her, completely appalled.

"You have shark DNA?" He seemed so genuinely horrified it coaxed another reluctant grin out of her.

"Yeah, less than an hour a night, if any. No, what I mean is, you can't be awake during the day, during any time other than when I'm around, really. Not for another couple of days."

"I'll be gone in another couple of days," he felt obligated to point out.

"Fine," Jondy rolled her eyes. "Then make sure nobody takes any bodily fluids from you. No blood, no urine, no feces even."

"Bodily fluids stay in their appropriate receptacles, got it. Anything else, sweetheart?"

Jondy scowled.

"I'm nobody's sweetheart, smart ass."

"You know you love it," he called out after her retreating backside.

Say one thing for the '09ers, they sure knew how to keep things interesting.

* * *

"You need a name," Jondy decided. She was sitting in her usual chair an hour later, a pile of food stacked on the bed next to them that they were steadily making their way through, him more than her.

"I know," he replied, spraying crumbs as he spoke around a mouthful of muffin.

"Say it, don't spray it." Jondy grimaced as she flicked muffin bits out of her hair. Then what he said hit her.

"You know?" 556 swallowed before speaking.

"Yeah. Everybody's taking names. I just haven't found one I like yet. You gonna eat that?"

Jondy motioned for him to take it even as she stared in wide eyed surprise at the wall opposite them.

_Everybody's taking names._

Did that mean the others were like them? Did X5's all dream of freedom and safety? Of someplace where they could live with their families without fear of dying in an exercise, drowning during training, or being taken apart because they didn't do as well as everybody else?

556 watched her think. She hadn't given him a name, and though her hair was in a pony-tail, her neck was bear, leading him to the conclusion she'd gotten her barcode lasered off.

"Which one are you?" He finally ventured when the silence got to be too much.

"210," Jondy replied without thinking before wincing at the slip.

"210, huh. You excelled in field med, didn't you?"

"Top of my class," Jondy replied, jerking on her lab coat. "Can't you tell?"

"It'd be nice to have an X5 doctor," 556 spoke, almost wistfully.

"Easy there, tiger. Don't go making plans for a family reunion just yet."

"I'm just saying," 556 held up his hands in surrender before grabbing another muffin from the immense stack between them.

"So how long until the others get here?"

"Not long. 494 and 582 aren't very patient."

"494?" Ben was 493. Maybe they were related?

"493's twin."

"Twin? Not clone?"

"Twin," 556 repeated.

"What's he like?" Jondy asked.

"He's a good CO, a great transgenic. He's our Alpha-"

"Alpha?" Jondy peered at him, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Animal DNA," 556 explained carefully. "Canine DNA, mostly. We rank each other. The higher we rank, the more Alpha we are."

"And 494 ranks the highest?"

"Yep. 582 is second."

"And they're both in your squad?"

"582's my CO. 494's basically in charge of everybody."

"Like the base CO?"

556 laughed at that.

"I guess you could say that, just never in front of Renfro."

"Renfro?"

"Think the wicked witch of the west, only it's more like the Evil Bitch of Manticore." 556's expression got dark and Jondy was sorry she'd brought it up.

"Why don't they send a TAC Team after you?"

"Too risky for OPSEC. TAC Teams and X5's don't exactly get along."

"And here I thought we were special." Jondy's dry tone had him laughing, wincing as the jarring motion caused pain to echo throughout his body.

"Easy, easy," Jondy's soothing voice brought him back to reality and he opened his eyes to blink blearily up at her.

"What's the verdict, Doc? Am I gonna make it?"

"Unfortunately, yes," came Jondy's dryer than dry ice reply. 556 smiled at that, lesson learned about laughing.

"Listen, my shift starts in fifteen. I'll stop by at lunch and bring you something, kay?"

"'Kay." 556 replied.

"But until then."

"Sleep, yeah, yeah. Oh the hardships we endure."

Jondy shook her head as she left the room.

556 was definitely not what she'd expected from a Manticore transgenic who'd spent his whole life locked up.

It made her curious to find out what the others were like.

* * *

She brought him food, two sandwiches, some hot soup, and milk, a rare enough commodity that he savored it like the treat it was.

"We don't usually even get cream for our coffee," he explained, swallowing the last sip with a blissful sigh.

"Don't you need it for the seizures?"

"The seizures?" 556 looked up at her, confused.

"You know, the shakes?"

"Oh, the shakes. Only a few of us got them before they marched everybody down to the labs for some good old gene therapy."

"They found a way to fix them?" Jondy was in awe. She'd been trying for years, ever since she'd synthesized her anti-heat medication, to find something similar for the seizures. So far, tryptophan was still the only thing that helped.

"It's Manticore," 556 shrugged his good shoulder, as if that was explanation enough.

He had such a blasé attitude, and he was so glib and cheerfully confident, he reminded her so much of him…

"Tony."

"Huh?" 556 looked up, sandwich halfway down the hatch, and stared at her in confusion.

"I'm going to call you Tony."

"Tony." 556 lowered the sandwich and repeated the name, a small smile forming. "I like it."

He raised the sandwich to start eating before catching sight of her wistful expression and immediately lowered it.

"He's not an ex-boyfriend, is he? Cause I don't want the name if he is. That'd just be…strange."

"No, doofus. More like a father figure."

"Still creepy," Tony stated, but let it be. He liked the name. He'd have kept it even if it was the name of her ex.

"You sure make friends awfully fast, 556, or should I say Tony?" Tony was upright and ready to snap a salute before pain caught up with him and made it abundantly clear that was a stupid, stupid idea.

"You idiot." Like he needed the reminder.

Jondy quickly adjusted his drip to level out the pain, carefully propping him up on his pillows and checking his vitals before turning her attention to the new arrivals.

The one who'd spoken was a dead ringer for Ben. He had the same base scent, but his was stronger, more pronounced. And his eyes…

Ben was a dreamer, his eyes had always had a sort of far off in the world quality to them. 494 was focused intently on the here and now, and the here was her current location as well as his.

"I don't believe we've met," 494 cocked his head to the side as he studied her.

"No, I don't think we have," Jondy replied, not stupid enough to give him either her name or her designation.

"Are you okay, 55 – Tony?"

"He's fine," Jondy snapped, turning her gaze to the other X5 and hesitating.

He was completely new to her.

He was tall, at least six two, probably six three. He had the same lean musculature as Tony and 494, and any other X5 male, really.

He had expressive brown eyes that were practically drilling a hole right through her. He made her want to take a step back, to put some distance between them.

"582," 494's tone was disproving, and 582 snapped his gaze over to him, blinking in apparent surprise at his actions.

"Lovely," Tony winced as he shifted positions. "My very own knight in shining armor. In case you hadn't figured it out, 582, she was _helping_ me."

Jondy was quick to put two and two together. Tony had talked about ranking, but he hadn't explained how they did it. Now, she got the distinct feeling 582 had tried to pull rank on her ass.

And it pissed her off.

"So I assume you're the transportation committee," Jondy reached over to snag Tony's chart, making a notation about the morphine adjustment before looking up at the other two X5's.

582 stared at the female in front of him.

She was pretty, striking even, with wide blue eyes and a pert nose, pouty lips that gave her a sort of naturally defiant look.

She'd frozen at his challenge, but she hadn't backed down, which put her in a league above some of the males he knew.

She was an '09er, though, and that was an automatic strike against her. When she ran, she'd put the hurt on a lot of people, not just the rest of her squad, but the rest of the program as well.

582 had lost a squadmate in the aftermath, something he had yet to forgive himself for, let alone her.

But watching her, in her doctors kit, with that clipboard in hand, and the way she moved around 5 – _Tony, his name is Tony now_ – he found himself awestruck by how much she seemed to care.

"He-_ll-o_? Anybody home?" Jondy snapped her fingers in front of 582's face a couple of times, smirking when he blinked once before leveling her with what was supposed to be a severely intimidating face.

"Don't even try it, hotshot. You're the one who spaced."

494 found himself immensely amused by this female, who, somehow, seemed to have entranced his friend. And judging from the look on Tony's face, he wasn't the only who'd noticed.

582 was going to regret this little lapse, his SIC would make damn sure of it.

"Time to bust out of this joint," Tony attempted to sit up and subsequently found himself pushed back in the bed by two sets of hands.

Jondy glared at 582 over Tony's head, not particularly liking him putting his hands on _her _patient, CO or otherwise.

"You're not walking out of here, not in your condition."

"Aw, come on, doc. I'm an X5."

"You were shot, stabbed, and beaten. X5 or not, I'd be certifiable to let you even think of standing up _three days later_, let alone walking anywhere."

"He's leaving today," 494 stated, his voice broaching no room for argument.

"Than either you're carrying him out, or you steal an ambulance and drive him away, cause he's not walking."

"Tony?" 582 asked, his voice quiet, his question obvious. Tony made a face and the universal sign of so, so.

"Not a chance," Jondy caught the movement, her angry, defiant gaze locking in on 582's.

He arched an eyebrow by way of challenge and she tilted her head up and placed her hands on her hips in the universal gesture of feminine challenge.

"He's not walking out of here," she repeated, her voice a low growl.

"And I suppose you're the one who's going to try and stop us?"

"He's my patient," Jondy snapped. "I took an oath to do whatever action was in the best interest of my patient, and walking, or movement of any kind, is most definitely not in his best interest."

582 really, really liked her mad. Her eyes flashed, her chest rose and fell oh-so enticingly as her breathing increased and her face flushed with anger.

494 ducked his head, bringing up his hand to hide his grin as he and Tony shared a mutual look of glee.

"We'll take the ambulance," 582 finally stated.

Jondy regarded him with no small amount of suspicion before slowly lowering her arms.

"Well, then. There's a busted ambulance in the repair docks near Bay D. No one's gonna notice if it's gone."

"How much gas does it have in it?" 494 asked, all business.

"Enough to get you down to the truck stop near 3rd and Main. Find TJ, tell him I sent you, and give him this." She pulled a wad of bills out of her coat pocket.

"TJ a friend of yours?"

"TJ's a supplier," Jondy replied. "I buy gas off of him. Trucking companies have a direct line with petroleum suppliers, so they don't have to worry about standing in line or not having enough gas for their trucks. TJ puts a couple gallons aside for me every month for my baby."

"Your baby?" 582 arched an eyebrow and Jondy shot him an annoyed look.

"You want the gas or not?"

Grinning, or at least coming as close to grinning as he got, he accepted her money, tucking it into the pocket of his jeans before turning his attention to Tony.

"What's in the bags?" He asked, nodding to the IV.

Jondy rattled off a list of antibiotics, rounding off the list with morphine.

"Which one's the morphine?"

"This one."

582 quickly disconnected the rest of the lines.

"What-"

"He's X5," he interrupted what was undoubtedly going to be another of this females rants. "He doesn't need the antibiotics."

Jondy scowled at the reminded, but kept her mouth shut.

"You okay?" 582 asked, again, causing Tony to give him a wane smile.

"Fine and dandy, Sir." It was a testament to just how worried he had been that he kept checking.

"You really are his knight in shining armor," Jondy smirked, causing 582 to look up at her with suspicious eyes.

"Knight," she stated, pointing at him and arching an eyebrow to make her point clear.

Tony snickered quietly to himself at that.

"You got admit, it fits, Sir," Tony addressed both his CO and 494.

"Knight," 494 repeated, staring at his friend, a wry half smile forming. "It's a good name."

"Yeah," Knight agreed, turning his gaze once more to the female.

"What's your name?" He asked, a sudden driving need to know enveloping him.

"Jondy," Jondy stated after a moments hesitation. She extended her hand, which Knight stared at him amusement for a few seconds before accepting.

"Nice to meet you Jondy. My name is Knight."

"Pleasure," Jondy replied, enraptured by his smile and suddenly twinkling eyes. Now that she looked closer, he really didn't seem all that bad. As a matter of fact…she kind of liked him.

"You better interrupt them now, or we're never going to get out of here," Tony informed 494 with laughter in his voice as the two of them watched the other two stare, enraptured, at each other.

"Right," 494 clapped his hands, causing Jondy and Knight to turn to him, Jondy annoyed, Knight rueful cause he knew he'd been 'lost in the moment' so to speak, a first for him.

"Alright, so here's the plan. Me and Knight here are going to get Tony out of here using a stolen ambulance at the gas money you so thoughtfully provided. And then, when we're gone, you're going to get the hell out of town."

Jondy stared at him and wondered if, after all she'd done here, he'd still turn her in.

"I'm not going to say anything, and neither are Knight and Tony, but Manticore's gonna do a blood test when we get back, and when they find your specific cells in his blood stream, a team is going to be dispatched here to bring you in. So unless you're looking forward to that particular branch of the family turning up and hauling your ass back, you're going to run."

Jondy clenched her jaw but nodded her understanding. He was right; there was no fault in his argument. Her blood was in Tony's body and the second they figured that out, she was as good as caught.

"I'll be gone in ten," Jondy replied, quickly removing her jacket and tossing it on the chair next to Tony's bed.

* * *

She followed them as they transported an 'unconscious' Tony down to the garage and into the ambulance.

"See you around, Jondy," Tony called out from his prone position.

"Hopefully, someday," Jondy replied, gracing him with a quick smile before turning and walking away.

"I like that female," 494 stated. Knight grunted his agreement, his thoughts on the matter more than obvious judging from his behavior. 494 grinned at him before turning his attention to the road.

"An X5 doctor," he stated, expression wistful. "An awfully nice thing to have."

"We'll find her again," Knight promised. "When we're free, we'll find her. And then we'll never have to rely on Manticore for anything again."

"Yeah," 494 agreed, wishing it could be as simple as that.

But freedom was an uphill battle, and there was no guarantee either of them would be alive at the end of the war.

**A/N: **Review? Pretty please?


End file.
